| ORCHID and OPAL |

Hey beautiful! In today’s video I will show you my process for designing beaded jewelry from the Czech glass and gemstone bead contents of Sam’s Bead Box subscription. The theme of the February 2022 box is called Dawn & Dusk, and it presents us with a dynamic array of both warm and cool colors. 

Having so many beads included in the boxes each month, we are guaranteed to be able to create multiple jewelry pieces with the contents. From the February box I created 4 necklaces, 3 pairs of earrings, and one bracelet. Despite making finished pieces, I still have leftover beads to work with!

Here is my design process in a nutshell:

1.  Identify any focal components
2. Identify any pairs of specialty beads (for earrings or to use as connectors)
3. Identify unusual bead shapes, which may require more advanced planning (like daggers and drops)
4. Sort beads – like colors together
5. Identify any beads/components from your bead stash that could be combined with what is found in the subscription box, as desired.
6. Begin to layout potential jewelry designs on separate bead mats. This process usually begins with a focal, and continues with bringing over additional coordinating beads, and helps you to get a visual of how a design may shape up.
7. Create!
8. If you aren’t pleased with what came out of the initial creation phase, just take it apart and try again! Don’t worry – trial and error can be a great way to learn, and hone a design to make it even better, as you keep trying.